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Ahmad Shah Durrani ... Aiken

Ahmad Shah Durrani founder of the state of Afghanistan and ruler of an empire that extended from the Amu Darya to the Indian Ocean and from Khorasan into Kashmir, the Punjab, and Sindh. Head of the central government, with full control of all departments of state in domestic and foreign affairs, both civil ... Ahmad Sirhindi, Shaykh Indian mystic and theologian who was largely responsible for the reassertion and revival in India of orthodox Sunnite Islam as a reaction against the syncretistic religious tendencies prevalent during the reign of the Mughal emperor Akbar. Ahmadabad city, eastern Gujarat state, west-central India. It lies along the Sabarmati River about 275 miles (440 km) north of Mumbai (Bombay). Ahmadabad is at the junction of the main roads leading to Mumbai and central India, the Kathiawar Peninsula, and the Rajasthan border. The city is also a major junction ... Ahmadi, Al- town, southern Kuwait. The oasis town was built after 1946 with the development of the oil field in which it is located. Al-Ahmadi is the headquarters of the Kuwait Oil Company. Pipelines link it with Mina' (port) al-Ahmadi, on the Persian Gulf to the east, where a refinery and tanker ... Ahmadinejad, Mahmoud Iranian political leader who served as president of Iran (2005- ). Ahmadiyyah modern Islamic sect and a name shared by several Sufi (Muslim mystic) orders. The sect was founded in Qadian in the Punjab, India, in 1889 by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (c. 1839-1908), who claimed to be the mahdi (a figure expected by some Muslims at the end of the world), the ... Ahmadnagar city, west-central Maharashtra state, western India. It lies along the Sina River, 130 miles (210 km) east of Mumbai (Bombay). Known as Bhinar in early Yadava times, it was conquered by Malik Ahmad Nizam Shah, founder of the Ahmadnagar dynasty, in 1490. The city was later taken by the Mughals, ... Ahmadu Seku second and last ruler of the Tukulor empire in West Africa, celebrated for his resistance to the French occupation. Ahmed Hasim writer, one of the most outstanding representatives of the Symbolist movement in Turkish literature. Ahmed I Ottoman sultan from 1603 to 1617, whose authority was weakened by wars, rebellions, and misrule. The rebellions he was able to suppress; he executed some of the viziers and exiled many palace dignitaries for bribery and intrigue; and he introduced a new regulation for the improvement of land administration. The ... Ahmed II Ottoman sultan (1691-95) whose reign was marked by the continuing war with the Holy League (Austria-Poland-Venice). Ahmed III sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1703 to 1730. Ahmed Vefik Pasa Ottoman statesman and scholar who presided over the first Ottoman Parliament (1877) and who is known for his contributions to Turkish studies. Ahmed Yesevi poet and Sufi (Muslim mystic), an early Turkish mystic leader who exerted a powerful influence on the development of mystical orders throughout the Turkish-speaking world. Ahmed, Fakhruddin Ali statesman who was president of India from 1974 to 1977. Ahmed, Iajuddin 17th president of Bangladesh (2002-09). From October 2006 to January 2007 he served simultaneously as president and as head of a military-backed caretaker government. Ahmedi, Taceddin one of the greatest poets of 14th-century Anatolia. Ahmet Pasa Bursali one of the most important figures in 15th-century Turkish literature. Ahmose I king of ancient Egypt (reigned c. 1539-14 BCE) and founder of the 18th dynasty who completed the expulsion of the Hyksos (Asiatic rulers of Egypt), invaded Palestine, and re-exerted Egypt's hegemony over northern Nubia, to the south. Ahn Cheol-Soo physician, educator, and computer entrepreneur who founded AhnLab, Inc., South Korea's largest Internet security firm. Ahn Hyun Soo South Korean short-track speed skater, who was the top male medal winner at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. Aho, Juhani novelist and short-story writer who began as a realist but toward the end of his life made large concessions to Romanticism. aholehole any of several species of fishes constituting the family Kuhliidae (order Perciformes). Various members of the genus Kuhlia inhabit marine or fresh waters in the Indo-Pacific region, whereas representatives of the other two genera are restricted to freshwater or brackish habitats of Australia. Superficially the aholeholes resemble the freshwater sunfishes ... Ahom tribe that ruled much of Assam from the 13th century until the establishment of British rule in 1838. Their power in Assam reached its peak during the reign of King Rudra Singh (1696-1714). They originated in the Chinese province of Yunnan and began migrating into Indochina and northern Myanmar (Burma) ... Ahram, Al- daily newspaper published in Cairo, long regarded as Egypt's most authoritative and influential newspaper and one of the most important papers in the Arab world. Ahriman the evil spirit in the dualistic doctrine of Zoroastrianism. His essential nature is expressed in his principal epithet-Druj, "the Lie." The Lie expresses itself as greed, wrath, and envy. To aid him in attacking the light, the good creation of Ahura Mazda, the Wise Lord, Ahriman created a horde of ... Ahsa'i, al- founder of the heterodox Shi'ite Muslim Shaykhi sect of Iran. Ahtisaari, Martti Finnish politician and noted mediator who was president of Finland (1994-2000). In 2008 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace for his efforts to resolve international conflicts. Ahuachapan city, western El Salvador, on the small Molino River (with a hydroelectric station) at the foot of La Lagunita Volcano. Originally called Gueciapam by the Indians, it was renamed Aguecha before becoming the town (1823) and the city (1862) of Ahuachapan. A manufacturing and distributing centre (the most important product ... Ahuitzotl eighth king of the Aztecs, under whose reign (1486-1503) the Aztec empire reached its greatest extent. Ahura Mazda supreme god in ancient Iranian religion, especially in the religious system of the Iranian prophet Zoroaster (7th century-6th century BC). Ahura Mazda was worshiped by the Persian king Darius I (reigned 522 BC-486 BC) and his successors as the greatest of all gods and protector of the just king. Ahvaz town, southwestern Iran. Ahvaz is situated on both banks of the Karun River where it crosses a low range of sandstone hills. The town has been identified with Achaemenid Tareiana, a river crossing on the royal road connecting Susa, Persepolis, and Pasargadae. Ardashir I, the Sasanian king (224-241 CE) who ... Ai ancient Canaanite town destroyed by the Israelites under their leader Joshua (Joshua 7-8). Biblical references agree in locating Ai (Hebrew: ha-'Ay, "The Ruin") just east of Bethel (modern Baytin in the West Bank). This would make it identical with the large early Bronze Age site now called At-Tall. Excavations there ... Ai Qing Chinese poet whose free verse was influential in the development of xinshi ("new poetry"). Ai Weiwei Chinese artist and activist who produced a multifaceted array of creative work, including sculptural installations, architectural projects, photographs, and videos. While Ai was lauded internationally, the frequently provocative and subversive dimension of his art, as well as his political outspokenness, triggered various forms of repression from Chinese authorities. Aicard, Jean French poet, novelist, and dramatist, best known for his poems of the Provence region. Aichbuhl site of a Middle Neolithic settlement (end of the 3rd millennium BC) on the shores of Lake Feder (Federsee) in southeastern Baden-Wurttemberg Land (state), southwestern Germany. Foundations of 25 rectangular buildings arranged in an irregular row along the shoreline were uncovered in the peat wetland by R. Schmidt in 1930. ... Aichi ken (prefecture), central Honshu, Japan, on the Pacific coast. More than half of its area lies within the Nobi Plain and two smaller plains to the east. The northwestern border with Gifu prefecture is formed by the Kiso River, sometimes known as the Nihon (Japan) Rhine. The irregular coast is ... Aichinger, Gregor German composer of religious music during the stylistic transition from the late Renaissance to early Baroque. Aichinger, Ilse Austrian poet and prose writer whose work, often surreal and presented in the form of parables, reflects her preoccupation with the Nazi persecution of the Jews during World War II. aid a tax levied in medieval Europe, paid by persons or communities to someone in authority. Aids could be demanded by the crown from its subjects, by a feudal lord from his vassals, or by the lord of a manor from the inhabitants of his domain. Aidan king of the Scottish kingdom of Dalriada. He was the son of Gabran, king of Dalriada. Aidan, Saint apostle of Northumbria, monastic founder, first bishop of Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, off the coast of Northumberland. aide-de-camp (French: "camp assistant"), an officer on the personal staff of a general, admiral, or other high-ranking commander who acts as his confidential secretary in routine matters. On Napoleon's staff such officers were frequently of high military qualifications and acted both as his "eyes" and as interpreters of his mind to ... Aidoo, Ama Ata Ghanaian writer whose work, written in English, emphasized the paradoxical position of the modern African woman. AIDS transmissible disease of the immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). HIV is a lentivirus (literally meaning "slow virus"; a member of the retrovirus family) that slowly attacks and destroys the immune system, the body's defense against infection, leaving an individual vulnerable to a variety of other infections ... aigrette tuft of long, white heron (usually egret) plumes used as a decorative headdress, or any other ornament resembling such a headdress. Such plumes were highly prized as ornaments in Middle Eastern ceremonial dress. Jeweled aigrettes, at first made in the form of a tuft of plumes, became an adornment for ... Aigues-Mortes town, Gard departement, Languedoc-Roussillon region, southeastern France, southwest of Nimes, on the Canal du Rhone a Sete, with its own 3.5-mile (6-km) canal to the Gulf of Lion. Its name comes from aquae mortuae, the "dead waters" of the surrounding saline delta marshland. Built by Louis IX as the embarkation ... Aiguillon, Emmanuel-Armand de Richelieu, duc d' French statesman, whose career illustrates the difficulties of the central government of the ancien regime in dealing with the provincial Parlements and estates, the extent to which powerful ministers were at the mercy of court intrigue, and how French diplomacy suffered under Louis XV as a result of secret diplomacy. Aiken county, western South Carolina, U.S. It lies in the state's sandhill region between the North Fork Edisto River to the northeast and the Savannah River border with Georgia to the southwest. The county is also drained by the South Fork Edisto. Aiken and Redcliffe Plantation state parks are within its ... Aiken city, seat of Aiken county, western South Carolina, U.S. Aiken lies 16 miles (26 km) northeast of Augusta, Georgia. It was chartered in 1835 and named for the railroad entrepreneur William Aiken. The city was originally a health resort. During the American Civil War the Confederate forces of General Joseph ...